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Lawyer wants changes in discriminating Chinese characters
By Zhao Chunzhe (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-01-21 11:48
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A lawyer in Shanghai believes the wording of 16 Chinese characters is demeaning to women and wants them changed, Modern Express reported today.
The 16 characters all have "nv", meaning female in Chinese, as a part of the wording, and it will make people who read it relate the female image to the meaning of words that convey a negative image, according to the lawyer Ye Mantian.
"For example, 'piao', having the combination of woman and money in its wording, means a man going to hooker. But why put a woman and money together to have that meaning? It should be the man's fault," Ye said.
Ye said that for the word "piao", he would put two persons and a "no" together, and the new wording that "piao" means that two persons did something they shouldn't do.
"Whenever people read the word, it will stress the point that it's something wrong and that will gradually prevent it from happening," Ye said.
A netizen named Li Ou said Chinese characters are deeply rooted in Chinese history, where the cultural preference for boys over girls is strong. Changes must be made in ideology and education, rather than just word variations.
"In his point of view, we have many more words to change than 16," said an unnamed netizen.
"What I want to do is to make every person feel respected in every way, including children, and establish a healthy environment for them when they enter school," Ye was quoted as saying.
